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Veteran reliever K-Rod set to rejoin Brewers

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By George Von Benko
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MLB.com |

PITTSBURGH -- The Brewers have called up right-hander Francisco Rodriguez. The veteran reliever could have opted out of his Minor League contract if he was not added to the roster Wednesday. He was not activated for Wednesday night's game.

The Brewers will activate Rodriguez on Thursday. Following Wednesday night's game they optioned catcher Blake Lalli to Triple-A Nashville and transferred infielder Taylor Green to the 60-day disabled list.

Rodriguez, 31, threw four scoreless innings with seven strikeouts in four Minor League appearances in recent weeks. He signed the Minor League deal in April. Last season with the Brewers, Rodriguez pitched to a 4.38 ERA and 1.33 WHIP in 72 innings. He went 4-0 after joining the Brewers during the 2011 season, with a 1.86 ERA.

"Velocity-wise he's back up to, I don't know if he's quite where he was last year, but he's 90-91," manager Ron Roenicke said. "The changeup has been good. I saw the outing two nights ago, and he got through the inning OK and then was better on Tuesday morning. So we'll see."

Roenicke was not sure how he would use Rodriguez out of the bullpen.

"I think we just kind of look at where we are and the matchups and who is being used," Roenicke said. "Hopefully some guys will start putting themselves in position to where we can put them in an inning and feel good about it."

George Von Benko is a contributor to MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.